Looking back from the perspective of more than thirty years since the Ice Maiden’s discovery, it is possible to assess the legacy of the 1993 excavation across several dimensions.

For Pazyryk studies: The discovery dramatically raised the profile of Pazyryk archaeology internationally.

The Ice Maiden’s fame brought attention and funding to a field that had previously been known primarily to specialists.

The subsequent excavations on the Ukok Plateau — which produced the Warrior and other finds — built directly on the Ice Maiden’s discovery.

The body of evidence now available for Pazyryk studies is substantially richer than it was before 1993.

For the archaeology of tattoos: The Ice Maiden’s tattoos are among the finest preserved examples of ancient tattooing in the world, and their discovery contributed to a broader scholarly attention to tattooing as an archaeological phenomenon.